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evolution

Started by sleeper, November 29, 2007, 09:04:32 PM

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sleeper

i got told this the other day from an acquaintance, i think it sounds kinda ignorant because i am an atheist that doesn't believe the earth is 6000 years old, i was wondering if anyone could help me with a response to this statement


"Evolution states that over time living things evolve into better living things than they were before...thats kind of confusing i'll reword...over generations living organisms evolve to fit in better with their environment and become stronger and better than they were before...(take your pick)...well this can't be true because if bad attitudes are contagious then the world is just getting worse as well as the people in it...humans are on decline...also...check this out...obesity...disease...humans are not getting stronger and are not fitting in better with the environments...the average life expectance is droping every decade...i guess Jesus is right...how'd a thought...i would"

Will

#1
First off, I hope everyone knows that the 6,000 year old earth theory is willful ignorance, and should result in life in science prison.

Against the argument (if it can even be called that): Evolution is about many species branching out to fill niches. If they evolve something that's detrimental to their survival, they tend to decrease in population due to natural selection. Humans have many very strong evolutionary traits, though: bipedal locomotion, intellect, organization, thumbs, etc. The average lifespan is increasing and diseases are cured on a regular basis. Despite ourselves, we're doing REALLY we..
I want bad people to look forward to and celebrate the day I die, because if they don't, I'm not living up to my potential.

SteveS

#2
For what its worth, here is a much better definition of what evolution is, and some of the ways that the definition has been butchered:

http://www.talkorigins.org/faqs/evolution-definition.html

Here is a comment by your friend,

Quotewell this can't be true because if bad attitudes are contagious then the world is just getting worse as well as the people in it
, that I find strange for a religious person to make seeing as how the Bible actually says:

QuoteEcclesiastes 7:10

Say not thou, What is the cause that the former days were better than these? for thou dost not enquire wisely concerning this.

 :wink:

McQ

#3
Yeah, that's kind of a horrible jumble of evolution ignorance, besides being hard to read and understand.

Evolution doesn't take a specific direction toward "better" anything. It simply is the collected body of mutations. If a mutation ends up serving the organism in some way that makes it more successful at passing on it's DNA, then it tends to survive. At least for a while. In the grand scheme of things, all species will become extinct, either by evolving into different species or by simply going bye-bye (the actual non-scientific term for dying off).

Here's one of many good reference sites to help your friend get a grip on this topic.

http://evolvethought.blogspot.com/2005/ ... ution.html

I'm pretty sure that Squid has a few excellent references as well. Not to put him on the spot or anything.   :lol:
Elvis didn't do no drugs!
--Penn Jillette

Squid

#4
Wow, that person has the same problem many other people have that reject evolution - they don't know what it is or hold some odd distorted idea as to what it is.

I'd advise your acquaintance to start some learning here:

http://evolution.berkeley.edu/evosite/evo101/index.shtml